Top Tweets From CO’s Lower Manhattan Breakfast Panel
It was a cold, brisk morning but on the 29th floor of 180 Maiden Lane, the sun was shining and the views were stunning at Commercial Observer‘s breakfast panel to discuss Downtown Manhattan. Some of the big players of the industry showed up and spoke including Howard Hughes Exec Vice President Christopher Curry, Jack Resnick & Sons President (and Resnick grandson) Jonathan Resnick, CBRE Global Brokerage Chair Stephen Siegel and MHP Real Estate President and Chief Executive Officer Norman Sturner. It was moderated by Fried Frank‘s Jonathan Mechanic.
The talk (which had an audience of 187 people) included such gems as Mr. Siegel saying that the “so-called Berlin Wall has been removed” between Downtown and the rest of Manhattan… a shell-shocked Mr. Resnick describing wandering around the neighborhood after Superstorm Sandy…. and the first use of the word “biophilia” at a real estate event ever. (We think.) But wait. Why are we telling you this? If the cold was too much, CO‘s Twitter feed was hot.
We had our share of disappointment:
#CObreak There will not be an aquarium at #SouthStreetSeaport, Chris Curry said, even though Norman Sturner requested one there.
— Commercial Observer (@commobserver) February 25, 2015
We learned not everybody likes Santiago Calatrava’s work:
#CObreak Calatrava-designed transit center in #LowerManhattan "looks like Godzilla to me," Steve Siegel of @CBRE says
— Commercial Observer (@commobserver) February 25, 2015
That not everybody agrees on how many visitors South Street Seaport gets:
#CObreak Sturner–54M visitors to NYC last year and none went to South Street Seaport. Curry said there were 9M vistors to SSS last year.
— Commercial Observer (@commobserver) February 25, 2015
That the building we were sitting in has a seven-foot tall aquafence protecting it:
#CObreak Norman Sturner of MHP: along with purchase of 180 Maiden, got a 7-foot tall aquafence surrounding the entire property
— Commercial Observer (@commobserver) February 25, 2015
And that if you’re looking for available FiDi space, one need look no further than the building hosting the event:
Have 800K sf to fill at 180 Maiden Lane, Norman Sturner of MHP says at #CObreak. The views sre the same on 6th to 40th floors.
— Commercial Observer (@commobserver) February 25, 2015
Midway through this talk, Mr. Sturner (whose MHP owns 180 Maiden Lane) invited us back in a year to check on the progress of his building. Look for some more tweets coming down the line!
